Over the past eight months the 150-year-old First Lutheran Church (FLC) in Suttons Bay has been under construction with major renovations. Under the leadership of the Rev. Colin Anderson, the church has made some overdue improvements to the fellowship hall and has installed a three-stop lift in the entryway.
The lift can hold up to 750 pounds and is intended to fit someone in a wheelchair and one person to assist, or any member that would struggle up the stairs.
“It allows people to access the basement where our fellowship hall is and the sanctuary which is up another level (from the entrance),” Anderson explained.
The fellowship hall fits five, four-person tables, has a full kitchen that has been renovated, and a newly handicap accessible bathroom. During construction, the kitchen was enlarged, fitted with new appliances, and a restaurant grade sink was installed.
“They probably haven’t had work on the kitchen done since the 80s maybe or earlier potentially... but everything in here now is brand new,” Anderson said.
The bathroom in the hall used to be a tight, single use facility that, “barely one person could fit in.” With the expansion, the bathroom can now fit a wheelchair and has a baby changing table, along with new fixtures.
“We have a lot of functions for the church here — potlucks, we put on funerals, we have done chili suppers in the past and we’d like to start those again. . . and that was part of the reason we did (the renovations) as well because we needed a certain type of sink in order to put on (public) community events,” the pastor said.
One of those community events will be FLC’s second annual fall festival around the second week of October. Anderson said, “last year we just had a ton of fall things. We had a bake sale, fresh cider, mini donuts, we had yard games and we cooked out. It’s just a fun way to reach out to the community.”
The sanctuary has not had any structural upgrades like other areas of the church and likely will not have any big changes in the future due to the desire to preserve the historic craftsmanship according to Anderson. However, the sanctuary sound system has seen a recent upgrade.
All of these renovations were made possible by a large donation from the estate of Esther Holsether.
“She grew up here, I think she lived on this street long ago. She moved downstate when she went to college and I don’t know if she ever found her way back up…but when she died in 2021, she gave a large bequest, really her entire estate to our church,” said Anderson.
In order to celebrate the improvements, FLC will be holding a rededication open house on Sept. 20 from 2 to 4 p.m. followed by a service.
“From 2 to 4 we’re hoping anyone and everyone from the community can come and see what’s been done, or even just see our church for the first time,” said Anderson. After the open house, Anderson will hold a short service in the sanctuary to give thanks and bless the construction.
“We’re rededicating (the church) because we’ve upgraded it, made it new, and we’re asking God to bless our upgrades for the next 150 years...rededicating it for Him to His service because we believe, ultimately, everything we do here is really His work through us.”
